INDIANAPOLIS -- Danica Patrick never thought she'd be here again. Never back at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. Never back in an Indy car getting ready for the biggest race in the world. Never in the media center answering questions following her first day of Indianapolis 500 practice.

"If you talked to anybody in (my family) the last five years about, (and) asked 'Am I going to do Indy?' ... I said I'd never do it again," Patrick said after practice Tuesday. "No way. Like, I'm not going to -- just not going to do it. It's been too long since I've been in the car."

But as she's become fond of saying over the past few months: Never say never.

On Tuesday, the first day of 500 practice, Patrick was back on the IMS oval where she turned 91 laps inside her No. 13 GoDaddy Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. She finished 20th on the speed chart with a top speed of 222.728.

Just like after her test at IMS a couple of weeks ago, Patrick said she is still not 100 percent comfortable in an Indy car yet. That takes time after six years away. But she's getting closer.

"I felt pretty good," Patrick said. "I'm still not completely confident in traffic. (My team is) trying to encourage me to use my tools and the bars, you know, the weight jacker and things. I'm like, 'I need to feel the traffic first. Like before we create another variable as to what's going on, I need to familiarize myself and get sharp again with the traffic and just the tendencies of the car.'

"But I felt like it was a really solid day. The car has a lot of good natural speed in it. It was very smooth. We tried a handful of things and found some stuff that worked. ... I kind of kept the mantra in mind like I had when I came to the test, that it's about building confidence, not breaking confidence."

Penske power

Team Penske IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden (1) rounds turn one during practice for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.(Photo: Denny Scott/For IndyStar)

Team Penske drivers have never shied from one simple fact that colors their employment as the most successful IndyCar team in history: The Indianapolis 500 comes first; everything else is secondary.

Each and every one of them knows that when they sign, and it's not a problem when things are going well. However, when they have years like last 2017, when Chevrolet didn't seem to have as much power as Honda, it can make going to work every day a frustrating experience.

Fortunately for Simon Pagneaud and his Penske teammates, a lack of power doesn't appear to be a problem. Pagenaud paced the 35-car field during practice Tuesday with a top speed of 225.787 mph. And nipping at his heels was month of May Penske teammate Helio Castroneves.

"I think this year we have a pretty strong opportunity," Pagenaud said following the end of practice. "Chevy has done a tremendous job, so we feel like we have a lot of power. You know when you come, and you feel you have a chance, wow, it's an early Christmas.

"I really feel like this year could be a really good one. We've had some good ones before here. ... When you drive for Roger, that's definitely the No. 1 goal. For us this year, it was clear from the beginning of the year, the No. 1 goal is to win Indy, then the rest will come next."

Penske's 1-2 combo of Pagenaud and Castroneves were two of three Chevrolets at the top the field with Ed Carpenter taking the final spot with a speed of 224.523.

Some drivers like to approach two weeks worth of Indy 500 practice methodically, taking time to settle in an get comfortable.

That might not be the straightest path to victory this year though. Pagenaud said with storms in the forecast the next few days, ticking off boxes as quickly as possible could be critical.

"It's definitely important to be already ahead of the game if we have some weather this week," the 2016 series champion said. "I think that could be very important."

As of Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service is predicting a chance of thunderstorms for each of the final three days of practice this week.

It's forecasts calls for a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday.; a 20 percent change of storms Thursday after 2 p.m. and a 20-30 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms after 8 a.m. on Friday.

"If you want to get your car perfect," Pagenaud said, "these kind of testing days allow you to get it closer or more perfect.

"I like it, but you could get lost by thinking too much, overthinking it. You really have to be disciplined about what you do and your priorities. Like you said, you look at the weather ahead. You also talk to your teammates, try to share the workload."